We hold the future of Wendy’s french fries in our, um, hands. Yup, right here in Ocala.

We are a part of a test to determine if the chain’s Natural Fries quietly introduced a few weeks ago will be what Wendy’s customers will be munching on in years to come.

OK, lest I forget, we’re not the only ones rendering judgment on this new cut of spud. Wendy’s units in the rest of the Orlando television market – as well as in markets in North Carolina and Louisiana — are taking part in this test, too.

My instant analysis? These fries are very much like Mom used to make; or better yet, like they used to make and sell at the county fair!

The Natural Fries are skin-on strips of real potato with nothing else added to them, then cooked in a special blend of oils developed just for these fries. To top it off, they’re sprinkled with sea salt, which comes from evaporating sea water, rather than table salt, mined from underground rock salt deposits and processed to add magnesium carbonate to prevent caking and iodine, a nutrient necessary for proper functioning of our bodies.

Is one type of salt better than the other? Experts seem divided in the quick Internet check I made. Either way, they’re both sodium chloride.

But “customers do perceive a difference,” says Denny Lynch, a spokesman for Wendy’s International. While he was coy about early testing results, he did add ”we’re excited about the prospects.” But it’s still early, he emphasizes; even advertising for the new fries “hasn’t begun yet.”

Still … “the thickness, the natural cut, the sea salt … the skin on, we like; the oil, we like,” he says. “We like what we see.”

Some may wonder, why? After all, Wendy’s fries over the years have routinely ranked fairly well. In the recent Zagat survey of fast-food restaurants, Wendy’s fries was ranked fourth after McDonald’s, Five Guys and In-N-Out Burger (no outlets hereabouts). In the same survey, Wendy’s scored a first in the Top Food category for mega-chains — those with more than 5,000 links.

The new fries are a part of a total re-examination of the chain’s “core menu items,” Lynch notes. While fries are being tested here, new hamburgers and new chicken offerings are being tested in other parts of the country.

“This is all part of a strategy to raise the bar,” he says. It’s still way too early to say how it will turn out, but the four new salads introduced nationwide a few months ago were an earlier phase of this strategy. “We know customers are looking for new things,” Lynch adds.

Will Wendy’s entire menu be overhauled? Again, too early to tell. And, who knows – diners in test markets may prefer the status whoa. “Sometimes their answer is, it’s good enough,” Lynch says.

But at least one local Wendy’s manager is thrilled with the new fries, too. Larry Romanik, who runs the Wendy’s at 3001 E. Silver Springs Blvd., says in the three weeks they’ve been available, “they’ve been getting overwhelmingly rave reviews. I think we’ve had only one negative so far.”

Non sequitur alert: Tommy’s in the Forest is now open, a colleague here tells me. It opened its doors at 4 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday), and apparently it also is open and serving the awesome breakfasts the Ocala Tommy’s is known for.

Tommy’s, of course, took over the spot long occupied by the beloved Roger’s Barbecue on State Road 40 just east of County Road 314 on the edge of the Ocala National Forest.